Blackout Trips Up Plans To Promote New Movies

By LAURA M. HOLSON and GERALDINE FABRIKANT

Published: August 16, 2003

Kevin Costner cannot seem to catch a break.

After a string of box-office duds like ''3,000 Miles to Graceland,'' Mr. Costner appeared to have a more successful effort on his hands in the western ''Open Range.'' But the blackouts in major film-going cities like Cleveland, Detroit, New York and Toronto have wreaked havoc on the best-laid promotional and distribution plans for the film, which stars Mr. Costner, who also directed.

The free publicity movies get when a star appears on the late-night talk shows was significantly diminished for Mr. Costner when roughly 15 percent of NBC's ''Tonight'' show viewers were not able to watch his appearance Thursday night.

Also, some newspapers were unable to print full issues, leaving out both movie reviews and advertisements. And yesterday, opening day, the Loews E-Walk, on West 42nd Street in Manhattan, one of the nation's busiest movie complexes, remained closed until 7 p.m., eliminating five showings of the movie.

''It is going to be a convoluted weekend,'' said Chuck Viane, president of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, a unit of Walt Disney, which is distributing ''Open Range'' in more than 2,000 theaters nationwide. ''Who is going to attend movies tonight? I don't know.''

That question is on the mind of all Hollywood executives this weekend as they attempt to assess how the overall box office, including new movies like ''Uptown Girls,'' ''Freddy vs. Jason,'' ''Grind'' and ''American Splendor'' will fare.

Some industry executives estimated that the blackouts could depress box-office receipts by as much as 10 percent. And that is not welcome news to the industry. Box-office receipts are already down 4 percent for the year, according to Nielsen EDI, which tracks box-office revenue.

''Opening day sets the stage for subsequent days,'' said Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, whose family controls National Amusements Inc., the movie theater operator. ''Everything that interferes with the normal exploitation of a film, particularly on opening day, harms a movie. For the industry at large, however, the adverse implications of the blackout are only short term.''

Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Brothers Pictures, which is releasing the teenage-oriented film ''Grind'' this weekend, said that unlike a snowstorm or other natural disaster, a blackout can create unique problems. Theater employees may not be able to get to work because of traffic and transportation disruptions from recurring power failures. And suburban moviegoers can become so concerned about reports of gas stations not having enough power to pump gas that they decide to stay home instead.

The blackout has affected studios' marketing campaigns. Mr. Viane of Buena Vista said the studio predicted initially that ''Open Range'' could have earned as much as $10 million to $12 million its first weekend. (The movie itself was made for a modest $26 million, according to Hollywood executives, and cost as much as that to market.) With the blackout, though, Mr. Viane said he expected that the studio might have to market the movie again in specific cities like Toronto and New York, ''to bring in folks who didn't see it'' opening weekend.

At first blush, the timing of the opening of ''American Splendor,'' could not have been worse. The story of comic book writer Harvey Pekar, opened in just four cities: two theaters in New York, two in Los Angeles and a theater in Toronto and one in Cleveland, Mr. Pekar's hometown. Fine Line Films has planned a heavy print campaign for the art film.

The company had also held a screening and dinner earlier in the week to get the word out. But with New Yorkers stranded on Friday and newspaper distribution limited, reviews of the film, which were very positive, were not as widely circulated as normal. ''It is really too bad,'' said Russell Schwartz, president of domestic distribution for New Line Cinema, a unit of AOL Time Warner and the parent of Fine Line. ''But there is enough going on about this movie and we will make sure people see it. If necessary we may even reprint the review in The Times.''

Despite the crisis in the city however, the film nearly sold out its first three screenings at the Lincoln Plaza Theatres on Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to the theatre's manager, Ewnetu Admassu.